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This week Dave Harper, a West End resident for 14 years, announced that he is running for the BC Liberal nomination in the riding of Vancouver-West End. I should make it clear that I am supporting Spencer Herbert in his run for the NDP nomination in the riding, and I intend on supporting Spencer next May, but I am happy to see that a West Ender like Dave Harper is entering the contest.

I do not know much about Arthur Griffiths other than the fact that he inherited the Vancouver Canucks from his late father. What I do know about Griffiths is that he is not a West End resident, and never would be except for the fact that it is a Vancouver riding where the incumbent Liberal MLA is not seeking re-election. Griffiths makes his home in Point Grey, one of the wealthiest areas of Vancouver, a seat which is currently held by Liberal premier Gordon Campbell. I think that Griffiths does not really have any business running in Vancouver-West End, I simply cannot see how he would be able to understand the concerns of residents and bring those concerns to Victoria.

What Griffiths has is a name to run on, and family money to back him up. Dave Harper clearly is a huge underdog, but he has a base in the community. I do not know Dave well, but all of my interactions with him have been very pleasant. He has always been very warm and approachable. So while I will definitely be supporting Spencer Herbert, I would rather see a Spencer Herbert NDP ticket versus a Dave Harper Liberal ticket than one with Arthur Griffiths. Spencer and Dave would both campaign on issues important to the community, whereas I think Griffiths is more about name recognition and spending a lot of money on his campaign.

Good luck to Dave Harper, I hope that BC Liberals in the West End realize that someone dedicated to their community is a better choice to represent their party then a wealthy big name candidate with no ties to the riding.